PORT PICKS GUERRA CHAIR, CELEBRATES NAT. MARITIME DAY

Special to El Rrun-Rrun

The Brownsville Ship Channel at the Port of Brownsville is the lifeline connecting businesses with markets and shippers around the world thanks to the work of merchant mariners.

“Ports are essential to our economy and way of life. The Brownsville Navigation District recognizes the pivotal role merchant mariners play at the Port of Brownsville. These individuals support the safe and secure movement of goods through our domestic and international waterways,” said BND Chairman Esteban Guerra. 

“Since 1936, the port has facilitated trade opportunities throughout South Texas and Northern Mexico aiding sustainable growth to create a thriving network of industries for our families to prosper.”

Guerra was unanimously appointed to serve as chairman of the BND Board of Commissioners during the board’s regular meeting held Wednesday, May 18, 2022.

Guerra serves as chairman alongside BND Vice Chairman Ralph Cowen and BND Secretary of the Board John Wood, also unanimously appointed to serve as part of the executive board. Commissioners John Reed and Sergio Tito Lopez round out the board as assistant secretaries.

Wood, Commissioner Place 2, and Guerra, Commissioner Place 4, were re-elected to the board in the BND election on May 7. During the swearing-in ceremony, Wood was administered the Oath of Office by his son Frank Wood while Guerra was administered the Oath of Office by State District Judge Gabriela Garcia.

On National Maritime Day, commemorated annually on the 22nd day of May, the Brownsville Navigation District recognizes the essential roles of merchant mariners to the port’s operations.

Merchant mariners are instrumental in ensuring that goods are available as our world emerges from the global COVID-19 pandemic. 

Tugboat captains, deckhands, harbor pilots, officers and crews of all U.S.-flagged vessels work tirelessly to sustain the movement of essential goods to medical professionals, manufacturing plants, businesses and communities. Despite the challenges faced in the national supply chain, the maritime workforce continues to be a vital part of the nation’s recovery.

National Maritime Day was established by a joint Resolution of Congress and by a Proclamation of the President of the United States in 1933 to commemorate the American steamship Savannah’s voyage from the United States to England, marking the first successful crossing of the Atlantic Ocean with steam propulsion. 

During World War II more than 250,000 members of the American Merchant Marine served their country, with more than 6,700 giving their lives, hundreds being detained as prisoners of war and more than 800 U.S. merchant ships being sunk or damaged.